plot
Fatal Backstory
“She stopped and remembered her home town and how it felt to be ten years old when she moved. . .”
I checked out two books-on-tape yesterday and tried to listen to them. The first one started at a certain point, then immediately went into a flashback, within the first page. Ditto for the second.
Yes, these [...]
Don’t Avoid the Emotion
I’m near the end of this draft of my novel and I’m reluctant to face the last few chapters. Why? Too much emotion!
You must write the emotional ending
It’s not fair to the reader to have his/her turn the page and read. “I woke up the next morning and thought about what happened last night.”
You [...]
Page 32
This entry is part 30 of 32 in the series 30 DAYS TO A STRONGER PICTURE BOOKPage 32, the last page in a picture book is a chance to give the reader a twist, or emphasize an emotion.
Page 32
The last page of a picture book is a left-hand single page. Consider ways to use this [...]
Novel Revision for Lovers
Often a novel revision benefits from the addition of a love interest. It may be a first love between 12 year olds or a more passionate teen love. Or it could be parental love or love of a pet. Emotional attachment or spicy relationships make the perfect subplot.
The Classic Romantic Plot
In [...]
Inventing Plot Complications
Every book on plotting says simply that you must have plot complications. But they don’t give much help on inventing interesting complications. Here are two things I’ve used as I’m working on this expanded outline for my new novel
Look to Setting for Plot Complications
One way of inventing plot complications is to look around [...]
Plotting Difficult Topics: Loss, action
This is part of a series of posts on Plotting Difficult Topics
In Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, the authors recognize that how you approach a difficult subject can make huge differences in voice, POV, plot and resolution. They suggest 32 different approaches and this series of [...]
Plotting Difficult Topics: Loss, Grief
This is part of a series of posts on Plotting Difficult Topics
In Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, the authors recognize that how you approach a difficult subject can make huge differences in voice, POV, plot and resolution. They suggest 32 different approaches and this series of [...]
Plotting Difficult Topics: Loss, guilt
This is part of a series of posts on Plotting Difficult Topics
In Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, the authors recognize that how you approach a difficult subject can make huge differences in voice, POV, plot and resolution. They suggest 32 different approaches and this series of [...]
Plotting Difficult Topics: Loss, denial
This is part of a series of posts on Plotting Difficult Topics
In Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, the authors recognize that how you approach a difficult subject can make huge differences in voice, POV, plot and resolution. They suggest 32 different approaches and this series of [...]
Plotting Difficult Topics: Wickedness, action
This is part of a series of posts on Plotting Difficult Topics
In Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, the authors recognize that how you approach a difficult subject can make huge differences in voice, POV, plot and resolution. They suggest 32 different approaches and this series of [...]
